


Come With Me

by NightmareNightingale



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Pre-Series, Prologue, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-24 09:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20703446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightmareNightingale/pseuds/NightmareNightingale
Summary: It had been a year and a half since she’d last seen him. Over one whole year, and there still wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of him. He had been her best friend. Her confidant. Her everything. And when he left that day, never looking back, a part of her broke.





	Come With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, okay, so, y'all, this is kind of a prologue for a Titans (2018) story that I'm writing, that involves an OC character, Marielle "Ellie" Armstrong. If you want to know more about her, you can check out my tumblr, nightmare-nightingale.tumblr.com, for more information.

“_Come with me._”

The words echoed in her mind, even after all this time.

It had been a year and a half since she’d last seen him. Over one whole year, and there still wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of him. He had been her best friend. Her confidant. Her _everything_. And when he left that day, never looking back, a part of her broke.

But she had moved on from Dick Grayson. At least, she tried to, and eventually, there was nothing but a dull pain in her chest. Dick Grayson broke her, sure, but she was the one who put herself back together, the best she could. 

But even _that_ couldn’t stop the things that had happened. Her mother had been murdered a few months ago, and it simply just took its toll on her. She knew she had two choices in front of her - stay in Star City, kill the people responsible, and become the very person she swore she’d never be … or, leave and move on – from Star City, from the Green Arrow, from Nightingale. She was now simply Marielle “Ellie” Armstrong, a young girl who had no idea what her future would hold.

She had found herself in Detroit – it was supposed to be temporary, on her way to the west coast. Ellie had nothing but her car, a box full of mementos, a bag full of cloths, and few hundred bucks. Everything else had just been weighing her down, and she knew it.

It was supposed to be temporary, but then that damn idiot tried to rob her at some corner bodega. A pretty girl, all alone at night, Ellie assumed he thought she’d be easy prey. But just because she didn’t consider herself Nightingale anymore, didn’t mean that she had lost her ability to protect herself. It didn’t take long for the assailant to find himself face down on the ground, her heel digging into his back. 

Ellie hadn’t wanted to make a fuss about the burglary gone wrong – she had managed to take care of herself, and it was pointless to involve anyone else. Unfortunately, the owner of the bodega seemed to have a heart of gold, and the police were there within minutes. She tried to talk her way out of it, like she had, with so many other things before, but once the officers caught sight of the heavy duty bow (an item that, no matter how hard she wanted to, Ellie just couldn’t part with) sitting in the back of her car, they confiscated the weapon, and brought her in.

She wasn’t exactly sure if they had the right to do any of this, but she was too worn down and worn out to put up much of a fight. In fact, she had shut down almost completely by the time she had entered the prescient, tired from the events that had happened. And that’s why she had found herself in one of the interrogation rooms of a Detroit prescient late at night. The room was a dull gray, monotoned room, and it smelled of stale coffee, and sweat.

“So, what are you doing with that bow, Missy?” the cop in front of her asked. She pursed her lips but kept quiet as she surveyed the cop – an older, stoutly fellow, with graying hair at his temple.

“You’re going to have to say something, _eventually_.”

Ellie just gave a small smile and looked down at the object in front of her. Someone must’ve felt a shred of sympathy for her, since she had been given a small cup full of water. She looked down at the water in front of her and realized she couldn’t remember the last time she had put something in her stomach. She brought the cup to her lips, and took a small sip in defiance.

“If you don’t say anything,” the officer continued, “I’ll have to get a _detective_ to come in. They really know how to interrogate someone.”

Of course, Ellie wasn’t just _someone_. She had spent most of her life working as a vigilante, and she was a tough nut to crack. She just hoped that this would end soon, so she could get some sleep, even if it was just a couple of hours in a crowded cell.

“Alright, have it your way.”

And with that, the cop stood up, and walked towards the door. Ellie let out a small sigh, thankful that, at least for the moment, she had a break. She brought the cup back to her lips as someone entered the room.

“Hello ma’am,” a familiar voice said as a man entered the room, “I’m Detective Grayson, and …”

The cup of water that she was holding ungracefully landed back on the table with a thud, spilling the water everywhere.

Ellie couldn’t believe what, or rather who, she was seeing right in front of her. It had been over a year since she had seen Dick Grayson. Everything seemed the same about him, except the weariness that surrounded his eyes, but other than that, he was just the same as he had been before.

“_Come with me._”

The words echoed in her mind again as she stared. Suddenly, she wondered what her life would’ve been like if she _had _gone with him. Would her mother’s life had been spared? If not, would the death have affected Ellie in the same way? Would she and Dick still be together through everything?

“Elle?”

The familiar voice brought her back to the present.

“Dick,” she replied. She didn’t know what else to say. 

Seeing the face of the man she loved, Ellie almost broke down, crying. She could feel the weight of everything that had happened since he had left. She could feel the unshed tears for her mother threatening to fall, the screams held tight in her throat.

But, instead, she just sat up a bit straighter, and crossed her legs at the ankles, just like her mother had taught her when she was young.

“I… _wow_,” he said, sitting down across from her.

“Yeah,” she replied, looking down at her hands.

The silence filled the room, and for a moment, Ellie wondered if it held the same weight for Dick as it did for her.

“I should’ve known it was you in here,” Dick finally said with a small chuckle, “As soon as they mentioned the bow, I should’ve known.”

She looked up at him and couldn’t help but notice the small smile playing on his lips.

“Yeah, because you’re always so _smart_,” she retorted, as she rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but smile, feeling like old times again, even it was just for a moment, before she looked back down at her hands.

“I … I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” 

“Yeah,” Dick said, “… What _are_ you doing here?”

The young blonde shrugged. What _was_ she doing, in Detroit specifically?

She hadn’t really come up with some master plan for staying in the city – she only planned on staying for a couple of days, before continuing her journey west. But, she could’ve gone through any city – stayed anywhere. There was something unexplainable that drew her to Detroit…

Or, had he meant what was she doing in the police station, this late at night? Because she didn’t really have an answer for that one, either.

“Soul searching?” She answered, though it sounded more like a question. Still, she hoped it was enough for Dick. By looking at him, she could tell he had questions, but he didn’t seem to pursue them – at least, not now. Instead, he simply shook his head, and stood up.

“Come on,” he said, with a smile, “Let’s get out of here.”

Ellie just looked at Dick with a confused look on her face.

“Come on; we both know you don’t belong in _prison_, Elle,” he said in a joking tone, “You’re probably hungry. My shift is practically over – I know a good diner that’s open twenty-four seven.”

There was a small part of her that wanted to go with Dick, sure, but there was an even bigger part of her that told her this was a bad idea. Dick had hurt her when he decided to leave. And as much as she wanted to believe he’d want her in his life again, she was scared that he was going to hurt her all over again, and that was something she just couldn’t handle. It had taken time to heal the first time, she wasn’t sure she was ready for it again.

But, before she could say anything, her stomach made a loud noise, causing Dick to laugh. He quirked a brow, and she just shrugged again.

“Okay,” she said as she got up.

She followed Dick in silence as the two made their way out of the interrogation room. After an explanation to his superior officer, and a trip to evidence, they quickly retrieved her bow. As Dick handed it to her, she couldn’t help but smile at it in her hands. Despite the fact that she planned on never donning a mask again, she knew, deep down, she’d always be an archer – it was just as much programmed into her as breathing or blinking. The weight of the bow felt familiar, and it was nice to have it in her possession again. 

She hadn’t noticed Dick’s gaze on her as she looked over the bow to make sure no extensive damage had been done.

He didn’t have any excuse for what he had done to her. He knew he had to leave Gotham, and Bruce, behind, but he had thought that in order to do that, he had to completely cut himself off from everything related to his time being Robin. Ellie had been there through everything, and while he wanted her to come with him, when she eventually said no, he thought that since she was the one thing holding him in the crime fighting world, he would have to let her go, too. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though, and he quickly realized how foolish he had been. And now the universe was giving him a second chance. He knew he couldn’t blow it this time.

“Okay,” she said, snapping Dick out of his thoughts, “Let’s go.”


End file.
